ABSTRACT
“Prevention is better than cure” is a well-known proverb. In healthcare, prevention and immunization are acting as complements to each other. In the recent COVID-19 pandemic, vaccines act as the main weapon to save multiple lives. Not only in outbreaks but also multiple communicable and infectious diseases vaccines are a lifesaver. But the life of these rescuers is in danger as the cold chain is affected by a wide range of challenges. The major hurdles faced by a cold chain are power failure or the absence of backups to maintain the required temperature, unavailability of real-time alerts for deviation in temperature, unknown causes of deviation in temperature, finding the location of the cold chain when it is on the way, deterioration of vaccine in waiting time while transferring from storage room to carrier and generating the report for the whole chain from the start to end, etc. These and many other challenges can be overcome by implementing Artificial Intelligence (AI) with cold chain carriers or equipment. AI along with its innovations like Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud computing, and Blockchain has transformed the traditionally operating cold chain and resulted in increased efficiency. AI has made it possible to continuously track the temperature outside the package, real-time alerts for fluctuation in temperature by sensors, visibility of cold chain from miles to miles with installation of GPS, data management and reporting with IoT, and many more. The prime objective of the chapter is to investigate and underline the impact of deploying AI to overcome the challenges in the traditional immunization supply chain. Opportunities and challenges of implementing AI in the cold chain will also be explored.
